Promise
by MissWriteress16
Summary: In the aftermath of a bad case, Callen finds himself being visited by Nell. A hint of romance and an insight into how close Callen has become to Nell's family ensues.


**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS LA and I never will**

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The sound of someone knocking on his door made Callen look up from where he was dismantling his toaster. Again, for the fourth time that night. He was normally an insomniac, but this particular case made him even more restless. Because they had been chasing a serial killer murdering the daughters of marines and one of the victims bore such a close resemblance to Tori that they could have been twins.

So, needless to say, he was trying to keep his mind from replaying the crime scene pictures in his mind and was confused as to who would be knocking on his door at—he glanced at the clock—eleven-thirty at night.

He grabbed his gun and held it at his side, quickly glancing through the window on his door. When he saw who was on his doorstep he quickly swung the door open.

"Nell, what are you doing here?"

The red-haired analyst stood on his front porch, her hair hastily tied back and wearing an oversized long sleeve shirt with sweats and some rather comfy looking boots. She held a case of beer in one hand and a plastic bag in another.

"I'm assuming you didn't eat so I brought you some dinner," She began, holding up the bag. Callen stepped aside to let her enter and she turned to face him with a smile. 'And the beer is because I know you had an awful time with this case."

Callen opened his mouth to deny it but shut it upon realising Nell definitely knew why this case affected. The reason _was_ her own sister after all, and if she was just as affected it was his duty to help her—as a team leader and friend, he insisted to himself.

The two ended up sprawled out on the floor eating pasta that Callen was pretty sure Nell herself had made. One thing few people knew about the analyst was that she was a good cook. She joked that Peyton got their grandmother's baking skills but Nell inherited their mother's cooking skills.

It was interesting to hear Nell so casually refer to her grandmother and mother as such, even though they had no blood ties to her. He once asked her about her grandparents, the people who had adopted her mother, and Nell replied they were the most loving, honest people she had ever met and they loved her mother as much as they would have had she been theirs biologically and treated Nell and her siblings as grandchildren.

"The case affected you guys pretty badly," Nell commented, breaking Callen out of his musings. He glanced down at his food, moving it around with his fork before sighing.

"She was only thirteen." He could feel her gaze on him, his anger building in his chest as he spoke. "She was a kind, young girl who had her whole future ahead and her life was taken because of what? Because some psycho wanted to punish her father?"

Nell quickly reached over to place her hand on his shoulder. He glanced down to see his hands clenched into fists and he sighed, releasing the tension in them. "I'm sorry." He looked at her to see her shaking her head, a tiny smile on her face.

"Don't apologise, not for caring about my sister." She let her head fall on his shoulder and she heard his chest rise and fall, felt his arm wrap around her shoulder and pull her closer.

The two sat there on the floor, silently paying their respects to the bright young girls who had their lives cut short, would never realise their dreams because of one man's delusions.

"This job makes me fear for them." Callen looked down at her, listening without saying a word. "For Gemma, Tori even Julia. This could happen to them, they could be targeted not because of anything they did, but just because they caught the attention of an insane killer."

"It won't." He heard Nell snort in disbelief, removing her head from his shoulder to shoot him a look. "It won't happen to them because _we_ won't let it."

Nell stared at him, her hazel eyes showing the worry she felt for her sisters. Callen reached up, stroking her cheek with his hand. She took a deep breath, nuzzling her cheek into his palm.

"It won't happen because I promise you that Sam, Eric, Kensi, Deeks will do their best to keep them safe."

"And you?" Nell asked softly, tilting her head as she stared at him. Callen swallowed heavily, resting his forehead against hers.

"I'll be the one working the hardest."

The two just sat there on his furniture-bare floor, staring into each other's eyes with their foreheads against each other. It was the picture of a perfect couple, but in that instance, it was two friends worrying about the girls they thought as sisters, who they would do everything in their power to keep their innocence intact.

That was a promise.

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So this is really short, but it shows just how close Callen (and the team) are to Nell's family and also shows how close Nell and Callen are. Lots of fluff, because I think Nell's one of the only people Callen can let his guard down around.

I hope you enjoyed, and if you have any story suggestions please feel free to either PM me or leave it in an review. I'm open to ideas, and they can be about romance, family or even a case fic.


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